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They all said find a different career. Medicine sucks.
Are You Even Happy With a Career in Medicine?
- Thread starter anonymousername
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They all said find a different career. Medicine sucks.
you will never have power as a physician. Your a med student, no power. Your a PGY-1...no power. Your an UL ....no power. Your a physician...guess what...no power. You will always have a boss you have to kiss up to. And if you are the "boss"...quess what...the hospital has the power.
I am a disgruntled resident. Frequently graduating third years just pray to god that the real world is easier, b/c otherwise they really don't know whether they will keep their sanity. Prestige, only if you learn how to grow organs or find a cure. Otherwise, your just an attending.
overall, i've lost alot through personal sacrifice, and there are plenty of challenging and fulfilling careers out there.
Masochists unite!!!
I am a disgruntled resident. Frequently graduating third years just pray to god that the real world is easier, b/c otherwise they really don't know whether they will keep their sanity. Prestige, only if you learn how to grow organs or find a cure. Otherwise, your just an attending.
overall, i've lost alot through personal sacrifice, and there are plenty of challenging and fulfilling careers out there.
Masochists unite!!!
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From where I sit, as a sort of "boss", I have lots of power. I determine, within the area of my expertise, what products the hospital buys and what are used on our patients. Others do the same for their expertise. Of course we need to make reasonable and financially sound decisions, rather than just what we would "like." Rarely if ever have I been overruled in making key decisions related to how my hospital provides care in my particular area of expertise.
If anything, I have more power than I want. If I decide to have my group use one product or approach to care, I have to explain it and take responsibility for it. That's the way it should be, but it's a lot of work. It is also part of the job.
Physicians do not have all-encompassing power to do what they want in a hospital, but the idea that we are powerless or that no one cares what we think goes against my daily interactions with the hospital leadership and against the group dynamics in which I participate continuously.
Of course, YMMV and maybe I'm just deluding myself to think that I'm being treated with respect by my hospital and my colleagues as we make decisions.
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Oh my Lord, are your from planet earth!! Every job has a boss in it and every boss has someone over them. You are so blessed that you are in the medical field. God forbids you lost your job in the future, there is always a demand for doctors. I was a director of a great program, with this shi--y economy, and since I do not belong to a union, I was the first to let go. I have been looking for a job and working on my Ph.D. but so far my chances are very dim. to find a job and I am drowning in doubt. Be proud of your specialty, at least (hopefully) your bosses have good common sense since they are highly educated people, other fields you might not even be able to talk logic with them.
You are IN THE BEST FIELD, be thankful and use it for good.
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Agreed. I think people some people complaining about medicine never actually looked at other career choices seriously.
And to the OP, like others said, while dentistry might look like a good outcome in a short period of time, Medicine is far more variable and far less "restraining" than dentistry.
There are so many different types of specialties, residencies and career paths, that I doubt you will find your options lacking. Everyone could find a career that fits him in medicine, because all kinds of lifestyles are available. Of course their competitiveness varies widely, but I don't think you will have a problem competing for what you like to the do the most based on your post.
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Yep.
Lucrative.
Enjoyable.
Non life consuming.
Pick two. Welcome to life as a grownup.
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I would think that a little research into the rigors of residency and medical school would make any pre-med hesitant about working so hard for so long and question they're decision about going into medicine. But what qualities/expectations do well adjusted and content physicians have when they were premeds? (ie what qualities in a pre-med makes you think that they would be a good fit for a career in medicine?)
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I think well-adjusted and content physicians were well-adjusted and content as pre-meds. Anyone who can focus on the positive aspects of their job/life/situation and deal with the negative aspects in a healthy manner is going to be more or less content. For physicians, maybe this was the scientific subject matter, the intellectual stimulation, the human contact, the desire to help others, you name it. If you can remember that the field of medicine will give you all of those things (in varying mixes depending on specialty), you can be happy.
I think a lot of the problem comes from a mismatch of expectations from pre-meds and reality. I can't really speak to the expectations of content (or non-content) physicians; I can only speak for myself. I didn't go into medicine expecting riches (other than maybe to have a stable, well-paying job) or prestige/respect (other than personal pride maybe). I suspect that most people aren't in it for the former anymore, and it's the latter where more people get tripped up, but that's a guess.
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Some of doctors are self-employed and have no bosses. I answer to no one, except the Mississippi Board of Medicine. I do have some business associates, but no one above me.
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I'm just busting your chops, but if a board of medicine was the highest authority in my life, I'd probably have to take some sort of high-powered rifle and start randomly shooting people in the streets to make things seem rational.
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The board of medicine isn't the highest authority in my life, but it is the highest earthly authority.
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thanks for this response (now I have to find out if I'm well-adjusted or not
). Can any more people weigh in on what type of people should (or should not) go into medicine?
Great thread! Although not exactly my situation I think a lot of what is covered here hits home for many well informed pre-meds.
One thing that is still a little troubling that wasn't covered much is the mistakes made. Obvisouly no one wants to make mistakes when it comes to a patients health and likewise no one wants to be sued. But how often does getting "blackballed" happen? (I believe that's how it was referred to in this thread) It's a little nerve racking to think that I could go through all of the training and end up in all that debt and then be in a huge whole with no job prospects. I mean I am confident and people are confident in me but I still make mistakes all the time. I imagine all the schooling and training really cuts down on mistakes made but the thought of that is slightly scary. Or do I have this all wrong?
One thing that is still a little troubling that wasn't covered much is the mistakes made. Obvisouly no one wants to make mistakes when it comes to a patients health and likewise no one wants to be sued. But how often does getting "blackballed" happen? (I believe that's how it was referred to in this thread) It's a little nerve racking to think that I could go through all of the training and end up in all that debt and then be in a huge whole with no job prospects. I mean I am confident and people are confident in me but I still make mistakes all the time. I imagine all the schooling and training really cuts down on mistakes made but the thought of that is slightly scary. Or do I have this all wrong?
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As someone currently in a busy General Surgery residency, my tendencies growing up to deal with adversity by gritting my teeth and sucking it up helps A LOT now.
We don't like complainers, whiners and lazy residents here. I suspect that's the same at any General Surgery program in the country.
(It goes without saying that you also have to be hardworking, self-motivated/self-reliant, trustworthy, honest, able to function without a full night's rest no matter what field you're in, etc.)
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Could any residents/attendings comment on this?
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You're looking for someone to help you make this decision for you. I'm telling you right now it's not out there. By all objective comparisons, dentistry wins, often times by a long shot. So it really comes down to a subjective decision: which would YOU rather do?
Dentists:
-make equal (or sometimes more) per hour than physicians
-have shorter training
-do not have to deal with the govt overrunning dental insurance
-work, on average, less hours
-pay a pittance in malpractice when compared to physicians
-very, VERY rarely have to deal with death or the dying
But at the end of the day, if you cannot see yourself working in mouths all day then a career in dentistry will only make you miserable.
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very true, but also consider this..... dentistry is not over-run by government YET. big emphasis on YET. give it just a couple of years. dentistry will be controlled by our government. our gov is all controlling and our nation moves in the direction where gov must be involved in everything.
death and dying HAPPENS. it is part of life. you can do everything humanly possible and someone will still die. it is just how it rolls sometimes. the thing is, DO YOU CARE? Do you care about people? I talked to some attendings and they told me a lot of people just dont care. He does care and is on the phone on the weekends with patients (he is an oncologist). Really nice guy. Told me all those attendings and physicians saying to not go into medicine are full of ****. said they don't have to stay practicing and could easily do something else. they choose to stay in it.
figure out what scope of practice you would like. but also be aware there are many social aspects involved in medicine. most 22 yr olds do not realize this when going in and that medicine is BIG COMMITMENT. IT CAN BE A 9-5 JOB (radiology, pathology). Other areas are more. Most physicians I know are DONE at 5-6 pm. They are all going home then.
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I was actually posing my question to residents and attendings who have experience in medicine, not pre-meds (no offense).
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None taken, although my point was still valid.
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who says im a pre-med?
just providing realistic information. you seem really torn on doing dentistry and medicine though.
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who says im a pre-med?
Well, your post history tells me that you aren't a physician. I appreciate the realistic information but it is a bit less effective when it's given from hearsay and speculation.
Again, no offense, but I would appreciate some input from MD/DO's about what tangible benefits there are from being a physician in comparison to being a dentist.
Search the dental forums for posts regarding back pain. Apparently dentistry takes a real toll on your back over the years. This can potentially be avoided in medicine by choosing one of the nonsurgical fields, I'm guessing.
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On paper, dentistry seems great ... but I honestly just do not think I could ever do it. I also think they have their own set of issues to deal/will have to deal with.
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like what?
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guess you should ask the dentists and not the non dentists
but ya they do have their own issues in the profession.there is no perfect field. plain and simple. it is called work for a reason. you gotta figure out what **** you can tolerate and deal with and then go from there.
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bump
still curious about what MD/DO's think are the (tangible) benefits of being a physician compared to being a dentist?
in other words, what kind of advantage do physicians have over dentists in aspects that one can gauge (like hours, compensation, autonomy, etc)?
still curious about what MD/DO's think are the (tangible) benefits of being a physician compared to being a dentist?
in other words, what kind of advantage do physicians have over dentists in aspects that one can gauge (like hours, compensation, autonomy, etc)?
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D
deleted4401
I know nothing about practicing dentistry.
But 3 weeks in as a practicing radiation oncologist, I can't think of a better career. I really can't imagine doing anything else. I'd flirted with some management consulting (had interviewed with McKinsey) and considered other specialties. I might have had some enjoyment being an hospitalist or something like that, but I doubt it would have lasted very long. Everyone of my friends in management consulting has burned out.
I am very lucky to have become a physician, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
-S
But 3 weeks in as a practicing radiation oncologist, I can't think of a better career. I really can't imagine doing anything else. I'd flirted with some management consulting (had interviewed with McKinsey) and considered other specialties. I might have had some enjoyment being an hospitalist or something like that, but I doubt it would have lasted very long. Everyone of my friends in management consulting has burned out.
I am very lucky to have become a physician, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
-S
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I'm sure the grass always seems greener.
Going into academic EM still seems pretty fun, even after medical school and residency. It's kind of a drag that I'll be 32 by the time I start to have money and free time to spend it - but, well, many careers never get that opportunity.
I won't lie - residency is pretty terrible, particularly when you compare it to all your friends who have all the time off they need for all the various life events that are important to them. Then again, now some of them have that time off because their jobs have vanished. Different specialties may have different opinions regarding how they feel about the long-term potential for their career - even the "ROAD" specialties of Anesthesiology and Ophthalmology have a lot to complain about regarding mid-level penetration in their scope of practice. I work nights, weekends, and holidays - but when it all adds up, I won't actually work that much for the money.
Every job requires some sort of realistic compromise, with a bell curve of return-on-investment. Medicine doesn't guarantee you a choice of specialty anymore than going into investment banking guarantees you partnership at the end of your indentured servitude.
I still can't think of anything I'd have rather done instead.
Going into academic EM still seems pretty fun, even after medical school and residency. It's kind of a drag that I'll be 32 by the time I start to have money and free time to spend it - but, well, many careers never get that opportunity.
I won't lie - residency is pretty terrible, particularly when you compare it to all your friends who have all the time off they need for all the various life events that are important to them. Then again, now some of them have that time off because their jobs have vanished. Different specialties may have different opinions regarding how they feel about the long-term potential for their career - even the "ROAD" specialties of Anesthesiology and Ophthalmology have a lot to complain about regarding mid-level penetration in their scope of practice. I work nights, weekends, and holidays - but when it all adds up, I won't actually work that much for the money.
Every job requires some sort of realistic compromise, with a bell curve of return-on-investment. Medicine doesn't guarantee you a choice of specialty anymore than going into investment banking guarantees you partnership at the end of your indentured servitude.
I still can't think of anything I'd have rather done instead.
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How's that?
I'm only on the clinical schedule for 28 clinical hours a week, on average.
ER physician schedules permit you to have a wide possible range of time commitment, and since your pay typically translates to a certain hourly wage + billing, you can work as much or as little as your desired income level allows.
